Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Dr. Jitendra Singh on Saturday said that more than 20 lakh long-pending promotions of government employees have been cleared over the last 11 years, ending a prolonged phase of stagnation in which many employees retired without a single promotion.
Delivering the welcome address at the 18th edition of the Rozgar Mela, the minister said the clearance of promotion cases reflects a wider transformation in government human resource management, marked by faster recruitment processes, transparency and improved career progression.
At the event, over 61,000 appointment letters were issued simultaneously across the country, with 49,225 appointments pertaining to the Ministry of Home Affairs and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs). Highlighting the growing role of women in security forces, Dr. Singh said policy reforms over the past decade have enabled greater participation of women, including their deployment along the zero line in the Border Security Force. He noted that for the first time, an all-male CRPF contingent at the Republic Day parade on January 26 will be led by a woman Assistant Commandant.
The minister recalled that the Rozgar Mela was conceptualised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 22, 2023, to accelerate government recruitment and make the process more efficient and equitable.
Citing recruitment data, Dr. Singh said appointments made through UPSC, SSC and Railway Recruitment Boards have increased significantly. While these agencies collectively made 7.22 lakh appointments between 2004 and 2014, the number rose to 10.96 lakh since 2014, an increase of nearly one-and-a-half times.
On backlog vacancies in reserved categories, he said appointments increased from 1.08 lakh earlier to 4.79 lakh over the last 11 years, helping address long-standing inequities in representation. He also pointed out that around 14.6 per cent of appointees at the current Rozgar Mela belong to the Scheduled Tribe category, nearly double the mandated reservation, indicating focused outreach to tribal communities.
Dr. Singh outlined several recruitment reforms aimed at improving candidate convenience. These include a new SSC digital portal offering flexible exam centres and dates, online access to answer keys and grievance redressal, a unified one-time registration system by UPSC integrated with Aadhaar and DigiLocker, and assured exam centre allotment nationwide for persons with disabilities. He also highlighted the “Pratibha Setu” initiative, which connects qualified but unselected candidates with alternative employment opportunities.
Emphasising that government jobs are part of a broader employment ecosystem, the minister cited initiatives such as Startup India, which has generated over 21 lakh jobs through 2.08 lakh start-ups, and the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, under which 56.03 crore loans have been disbursed, over 60 per cent to women. He also referred to benefits extended to street vendors under PM SVANidhi and artisans under the Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma scheme.
Concluding, Dr. Jitendra Singh said policies are being framed with the vision of a developed India by 2047, adding that the youth receiving appointment letters today would be at the peak of their careers when the nation celebrates 100 years of Independence, playing a key role in shaping India’s future.
